Football: Rapid Vienna Overcomes Dečić Tuzi

Football Bundesliga club Rapid has confidently advanced to the third Conference League qualification round. The Hütteldorf team won the second-round return match against Montenegrin cup winner Dečić Tuzi 4:2 (2:0) on Thursday, after a 2:0 win in the first leg, and gave Peter Stöger a successful home debut on the green-white coaching bench. The next hurdle is Dundee United, the Scots advanced with two 1:0 wins against UNA Strassen from Luxembourg.

Petter Dahl put the Viennese ahead in the 17th minute in front of 16,217 spectators at the Weststadion, with the Norwegian scoring the club's 500th European Cup goal. Andrija Radulovic (27th) increased the lead shortly after, before Stöger's team hit the woodwork five (!) times. In the second half, the guests reduced the deficit with a header from Vuk Strikovic (60th), but the two "jokers" Dominik Weixelbraun (68th) with a spectacular volley and Claudy Mbuyi (71st) restored clear conditions. Petar Sekulovic (82nd) scored for the Montenegrins with a deflected free kick. Rapid continues on Sunday (5:00 PM) with the Bundesliga opener at home against Blau-Weiß Linz, before another home game against Dundee is on the schedule on Thursday.

Rapid Missed by Centimeters

Against the Montenegrins, Stöger had to continue without the suspended Serge-Philippe Raux-Yao and Mamadou Sangaré in the starting lineup. First-leg scorer Jannes Horn was replaced by Jonas Auer in left defense. In search of the perfect formation, Stöger initially tried a 4-4-2 with captain Matthias Seidl as the second striker in the third competitive match of the season. His strike partner Janis Antiste almost gave Rapid a lightning start, but a header from the 22-year-old Frenchman hit the post after 39 seconds.

Cheered on loudly by their own fans, Stöger's team dictated the match and created a multitude of chances. But time and again, the woodwork was in the way, five times in the first 27 minutes. Dahl (15th) curled the ball onto the post, Bolla (17th) tried with more power, but with the same result. Dahl finished the rebound into the far corner. In the 22nd minute, it was Bolla again who hit the crossbar of the Dečić goal, and five minutes later, almost a repeat of the first goal occurred. Dahl dribbled past two Tuzi defenders impressively, Antiste completed the double post hit, and Radulovic hammered the rebound unstoppably under the crossbar from the backfield.

Tuzi Failed to Equalize

Seidl had his second European Cup goal of the season at his feet but narrowly missed (31st). An acrobatic overhead kick by Antiste missed its target by a wide margin. The guests tested Rapid goalkeeper Niklas Hedl only with a harmless shot from Andrej Bajovic (12th). After the break, Antiste had to leave the field early with a knee injury, and Dahl was already off the pitch by then. Rapid controlled the match, but made it exciting again after an hour with a goal conceded from a corner. Two minutes later, Radulovic was denied by the Dečić goalkeeper (61st).

Rapid was not unsettled by the goal conceded, and Weixelbraun, who was substituted for Dahl, volleyed the ball into the net after a corner. Shortly after, Mbuyi headed his first goal in a Rapid jersey from a sharp angle. In the final phase, the Rapid wall deflected a Sekulovic free kick unstoppably for Hedl.

(APA/Red)

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